Healthfirst recently co-hosted “Sweetheart Luncheons” for seniors married 50 years or longer. Fifty years! What an amazing accomplishment!
Reaching a milestone like that—especially as a couple—requires not only dedication to love but also to health and well-being. It is so important to take an active role in and be accountable for your health, at all ages. However, as we get older, appropriate care often involves medications and prescriptions for different conditions that may develop in later years—most notably heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.
A big part of taking good care of yourself is following your doctors’ orders. Your doctors are there to help, and adhering to treatments they prescribe—medications, exercise, diet restrictions—will only help you become the healthiest you can be. One of the biggest complaints doctors have is patients not following their advice—not filling prescriptions, not making the necessary lifestyle changes, not doing their part to take care of themselves.
If you haven’t done so already, begin to develop a relationship with your doctor. Those who are in touch with their physicians are more likely to become educated on what they need to do to be healthy, to understand why they take the medications prescribed, and to understand how the doctor’s orders will help them. A patient’s willingness to follow and understand a doctor’s directions is just as important as the orders themselves. And doctors want to educate patients about the importance of taking their medication and being proactive about their health.
Taking an active role in your health—before serious problems arise—is one of the most important things you can do to live a long, healthy, love-filled life. Love yourself, love your health—and we’ll all make it to 50 years or more!
George Hulse is vice president of External Affairs at Healthfirst. For more tips on leading a healthier lifestyle, visit Healthfirst Healthy Living, www.hfhealthyliving.com.
